CLERMONT, Fla. (March, 6, 2017) — The Drew University women's lacrosse team opened its two-game southern swing by going on an explosive 7-1 run to open Monday afternoon's 12-10 victory over Johnson & Wales University that persisted despite a valiant Wildcat comeback.
 
By the Numbers
The Rangers have won their last three contests and now hold a 3-1 record. The win was the second time in a row that they've won by a two-goal margin. After a big Opening Day win over Dartmouth, the Wildcats drop to 1-2 after Monday's setback.
 
Top Performers
• Senior midfielder Morgan Mason has set a torrid pace so far this year and has registered five points in each of her last two outings. On Monday, she netted two goals with three assists. Mason took nine shots, which was by far the highest total of any player. Mason's first goal opened the scoring for Drew, tied the game at 1-1 and began the Rangers' big run. Mason exploded in the second half and was involved in three of the Rangers' five second half scores.
• Freshman Allie DiDario has now scored in each of the Rangers three wins this year, dropping two goals in Monday's victory. The first, which was sent to her from fellow freshman midfielder Jenna Morelli, capped off the Rangers' 7-1 run to open the game. Her second came on a free position opportunity late in the second half.
• Netting a pair of goals were senior attackers Theresa Shafron, Kelly Dwyer, and junior midfielder Nicole Kinney. Kinney has multiple goals in every game so far this year while Shafron has scored in three consecutive.
• Reigning Landmark Conference Defensive Player of the Week, senior goalie Gianna Minogue made double-digit saves in her second straight game with 11. She has won each of her last three decisions.
 
Turning Point
With Drew down early, Mason decided to take matters into her own hands to get Drew on the board, forcing her way into a good scoring position and ripping an unassisted score to knot things up at 1-1. Little did she know, the conversion would spark a touchdown's worth of scores from Drew, none of which involved Mason, that had the Rangers out to a 7-1 lead with 12 minutes to go in the very first half.
 
With plenty of lacrosse to play, the Wildcats had over 40 minutes to chip away at the large deficit they faced, and they did just that. With four minutes to go the Rangers lead had been whittled down to as little as 11-9. Sensing the need for yet another score, Mason found Shafron out in front to shut the door on a potential Wildcat comeback and lock in the win.
 
 
Highlights
• With JWU building serious momentum in the middle of the second half, the first-year DiDario showcased fourth-year poise and awareness when she aggressively drew a foul in close, earning a free position shot that she converted to raise Drew's lead to 11-7. DiDario's score would be Drew's only one in a 21-minute span.
 • After a career game last week, junior attacker Sage Johnson made sure to get back on the board when she used yet another Mason assist to slam one home five minutes into the second half to extend Drew's lead to 9-5.
 
Stat Sheet
• JWU outshot Drew 25-23 and 21-18 on goal.
• Drew maintained possession on the majority of restarts, earning 12 draw controls to the Wildcats' five.
• It looks like the majority of these JWU-favored stats came in the second half when Drew was on the defensive, protecting their early run. JWU scooped 27 ground balls to the Rangers' 20.
 
Up Next
Drew closes out its Florida fling with an 11:00 a.m. tilt with Mount Ida College on Wednesday, March 8. The Rangers return to Ranger Stadium the following week on the 16^th for a contest against SUNY Canton at 4:00 p.m.